| Description | Volume_Issue | Year | Month | PDF |
| Today the Firehouse Lawyer addresses numerous issues, including two important ADA cases before the US Supreme Court involving the determination of whether certain employees were qualified individuals with a disability (QID); the privacy of telephone conversations under the Washington Privacy Act, RCW 9.73; local governments not being exempt from contractor licensing under L & I regulations; and finally, we look at a Washington court case addressing the applicability of the Public Records Act to the Washington State Association of Counties and the Washington State Association of County Officials. | 03-04 | 1999 | 4 | v03n04apr1999.pdf |
| Here we discuss a US Supreme Court case involving the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the relative rights and powers of employers and employees pertaining to the use of compensatory time; whether fire districts are free under the law to change their names to whatever the fire commissioners decide; the issue of securing an emergency scene to ensure highway safety without subjecting your fire department to liability for negligence; we also remind our readers that the FMLA only applies to private and public employers having 50 or more employees; and finally we talk about RCW 46.44, which contains a law involving the weight limits applicable to fire engines. | 04-05 | 2000 | 5 | v04n05may2000.pdf |
| This issues addresses a property tax law passed by our state legislature on the boundaries of taxing districts; provisions of a random law: the Federal Flag Code; and the importance of comparing the wages and other benefits of comparable jurisdictions during interest arbitration. | 07-06 | 2007 | 6 | v07n06jun2007.pdf |
| Today the Firehouse Lawyer discusses the Intra-State Building Safety Mutual Aid System, a statute unheard of in the fire service, which may provide another revenue-building tool for fire districts, if certain legislative fixes are made; we also consider the implications of government officials receiving gifts; a new Washington senate bill that amends RCW 39.34.030, and consequently, aspects of the public bid laws; whether call logs are public records, or whether requests for electronic copies of files that are not backed up are proper public records requests; and finally, we talk about whether your policies should properly designate “peer support group counselors,” such that any confidences revealed to them during treatment may not be inquired into in a court of law. | 13-06 | 2015 | 6 | June_2015_FINAL.pdf |
| Today we discuss the concept of a "jar of muddy water" when negotiation contracts; we also discuss very important legislative changes for 2017; we then consider an alternative revenue source we call the 450 Tax, which could generate substantial revenue for fire departments; finally, we have our monthly Safety Bill. | 15-04 | 2017 | 4 | April2017FINAL.pdf |
| Today we briefly note the existence of the Washington State Model Toxic Controls Act, which permits a unit of local government to recover remedial action costs when investigating the discharge or presence of hazardous substances on a piece of property. | 16-1E | 2018 | 1 | January2018ExtraFinal.pdf |
| The term "ordinary maintenance" has been re-defined and that will have positive and negative implications on public agencies with respect to compliance with the public-works laws; we also discuss what constitutes "unsecured protected health information" under HIPAA, the Model Toxic Controls Act, and a case involving the "professional rescuer doctrine." | 17-08 | 2019 | 8 | August2019FINAL.pdf |
| This article addresses the "personal information" exemption for public employees and what it means for records to be "maintained for" a public employee under this Public Records Act exemption. | 19-12E | 2021 | 12 | December2021EXTRAFINAL.pdf |